Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Note: The amendment of September 16th 2025 has been considered.
Claims 1-12 are pending and examined in the current application.
Any rejections not recited below have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35 of the U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Applicant’s arguments, see “Remarks”, filed on September 16th 2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-12 under 35 USC §103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made under 35 USC §103 over Kweldam in view Toufood (see discussion, below).
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-12 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kweldam et al., (USPatPub. 20110244090 A1) in view of NPL “Everything you need to know about vacuum sealing” (‘Toufood’) (from https://www.toufood.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-vacuum-sealing/?lang=en).
Regarding claims 1 and 3-12: Kweldam discloses a method of making a meat substitute comprising a fibrous product, wherein the fibrous product is made by forming a homogenous mixture of protein material comprising milk protein material (e.g., curd from cheesemaking, cheese, powdered milk, micellar casein isolate, whey protein, or caseinate), a hydrocolloid which precipitates with metal cations (e.g., alginate), and water in the presence of a calcium complex-forming agent (e.g., phosphate material) at a temperature between 30°C and 90°C, adding a solution of a metal cation with a valency of at least 2 (e.g., an aqueous calcium chloride solution) to the mixture in order to form the fibrous product, isolating the fibrous product and vacuum packing the fibrous product (see Kwedam abstract; paragraphs [0010]-[0014], [0017]-[0028], [0034]-[0038], [0051]-[0068] and [0093]-[0094]). Given the fact the temperature of forming the homogenous mixture recited in claim 1 lies inside the temperature of forming the homogenous mixture in Kweldam, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. As set forth in MPEP 2144.05, in the case where the claimed range “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”, a prima facie case of obviousness exists, In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
As to the vacuum cooling and the cooling temperature recited in claims 1 and 9: Kweldam discloses vacuum packing the product, but fails to disclose cooling to the claimed temperature; However, Toufood discloses of vacuum sealing food products at temperatures below 41°F (~10°C) in order to prevent products boiling as the pressure decreases (see Toufood pages 2-3). Therefore it would have been obvious to a skilled artisan at the time the invention was made to have modified Kweldam and vacuum packed the product at temperatures below 10°C in order to prevent the product from heating up as the pressure decreases, and thus arrive at the claimed limitations.
Regarding claim 2: While the rate of cooling the vacuum packed product is not recited in Kweldam in view of Toufood, given the fact the product forming temperature recited in the claim is the same or similar to the forming temperature in Kweldam and since the cooling temperature recited in the claims is the same or similar to the cooling temperature in Toufood, it is examiner’s position the cooling rate recited in claim 2, would flow naturally from the modification of Kweldam in view of Toufood, as suggested in the prior art. As set forth in MPEP §2145, the fact that applicant has recognized another advantage which would flow naturally from following the suggestion of the prior art cannot be the basis for patentability when the differences would otherwise be obvious. See Ex parte Obiaya, 227 USPQ 58, 60 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1985).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see “Remarks”, filed on September 16th 2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-12 under 35 USC §103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made under 35 USC §103 over Kweldam in view Toufood (see discussion, above).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASSAF ZILBERING whose telephone number is (571)270-3029. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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/ASSAF ZILBERING/Examiner, Art Unit 1792